It is about time to go to a restaurant yesterday. Stopped a taxi and headed to one of the ordinary restaurants in central Baghdad in Sadoun street. I can not stop my self following what is going on in Baghdad’s neighborhoods so I started to ask the driver from what neighborhood he is? Which neighborhoods he doesn’t travel to as a taxi driver? and other questions… he was angry for having to stay indoors at night even in Ramadan… the Sunni taxi driver was afraid to criticize the militias that controlled a Sunni mosque near his house as he was afraid from me… minutes passed and he started to talk and talk… angry and pissed of at the government, militias and terrorists. I arrived to the restaurant to and he left heading back to his home.
So I crossed the street and a police car parking in front of the restaurant and one police man inside the car and the police radio loudly carried warnings as I entered the restaurants…
“Extreme caution, I repeat extreme caution…”
I couldn’t hear clearly but it was something about a white car suspected to be a car bomb…
I didn’t pay attention as the 2 policemen inside the restaurant didn’t…
Sat down and minutes later I started to have my meal... policemen started to arrive to the restaurant… 4 men … another two… and others.
Finished my meal and had a very nice cup of tea after it… I thought it is time to leave the place is getting more dangerous… especially when looking to all these policemen not caring for the report of the suspected car bomb… looking back to it was my self and another man the only two civilians in the place.
I left stopped a taxi and this time he is a Christian… I was so annoyed to the idea that he can not celebrate his faith as many taxi drivers used to do but he then told me no I am still… he removed a little peace of clothes that hid a portrait of virgin Mary… the man works about 14 hours in the day to spend most of what he earns to fuel and to the maintenance of the 1982 Passat Volkswagen so he can support his family…
Two check points were in alert searching white cars… two young men waived to the car to stop and I told him it is ok to stop and ask them where they want to go…
They asked to go to Ealam in south west Baghdad, he told them sorry and they wanted to discuss with him... he was so sharp saying to them it is impossible for me to go there…
I thought the radio reports about the suspect car was really interesting. Is that on the police radio or can all Iraqis listen to radio that gives them alerts to watch for these sorts of cars?
Posted by: ljm | September 19, 2007 at 11:07 AM